Yoga and an Earthquake

I saw this license plate on the way to work this morning and took a picture. I am grateful for so much.

I was done with my morning clients and my own biceps/back workout by 9:30am and decided to stick around for yoga at 10:30. I walked over the Trader Joe’s for a snack since I wanted to refuel my musk-uls.

We were only 7 minutes or so into our class when there was a LOUD BOOM! Then, shaking. It was an earthquake! It’s not just the shaking, but the sound of the building rattling is the scariest part!

The class looked around at each other, confirming that this was an earthquake. If you live in SoCal and feel an earthquake you stand there during the shaking trying to figure out if this is “THE BIG ONE”?!?!?

We paused a few seconds and then scrambled down stairs to the gym’s lobby. The yoga instructor was amazing and tried her best to keep everyone calm. Yoga makes people so zen – even in tough situations.

We stood around in the lobby for about 10 minutes until we suspected there wouldn’t be an aftershock. Some people left, but most of us filed back into class.

I’m a born and raised southern California girl so this isn’t my first earthquake but they are super SCARY every time. I’m glad I went back to yoga so I didn’t scramble out of the gym all flustered! Sure, it wasn’t the most calming yoga session, but I’m glad I went.

After class I headed home for lunch. My kitchen is a disaster and my favorite salad bowl is dirty so I used a mixing bowl for my salad. I don’t mess around.

I’m shooting for 500 calories for lunch and counted this up short. Room for something fun! Chocolate is necessary after a scare, no?

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Comments

I live in south Florida. I’m glad with our technology, we can predict hurricanes. We haven’t had to ever evacuate, but have had some pretty rough ones nearby. We always stock up on supplies since we have at least a week to prepare. If we ever had to evacuate, we would just head north.

I grew up in San Francisco. I’ll never forget when we had a big earthquake while on the field playing soccer. I watched the grass rolling as we all ran to the center. The little ones never bothered me, but that time was crazy!

Also every household member should have the phone number for a family member that lives well out of your area to relay messages through. If there’s a true disaster, the phone lines in your area can be jammed but you’ll have better luck calling (or texting) out of state.

I live in the mountains of North Carolina… pretty much not anywhere near where earthquakes normally occur. But when the big one hit Virginia, we got a nice little aftershock! At first, I thought the neighbors were having a little too much lovin’ and hitting the wall, but I quickly decided that wasn’t the case when the whole apartment building started shaking. I did the polar opposite of what you are supposed to do and just ran around in a panic. I am clearly the person to have around in case of disaster.

I find it a little ironic to go through an earthquake during yoga…trying to be all namaste when the ground is shaking must be a little tough!
We have a fire escape plan – where to meet, get the dogs, etc. I was once trapped in a high-rise fire so am a firm believer in a plan!
Plus we have our RoadIDs to at least be identifiable in an emergency.

The most important thing…Pillows and blankets for the car and being thankful I have an SUV. Monica, remember the Northridge Quake, well of course you do. Every time we had an aftershock I ran to the front door. I guess i did it so much that it affected the dog. He would grab his toy and head to the front door. Yes, I have a plan. I have a kit, shut off tools, lots of water and great neighbors!! I also never get lower than 1/2 tank on my car. I need to be able to get to family if necessary. Do you let your tank get low? I know your family is a bit away from you. People think I am crazy but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

My mom pointed out a birding book and said, “Your birder friend would probably like that one!” at the festival this weekend. I thought that was super cute since she’s never even met you, just knows I like you

I was born in raised in California, too and I totally agree… earthquakes are super SCARY! We have a pretty awesome earthquake kit at home that I upgraded after Japan’s earthquake, complete with a bucket with liners that can serve as a makeshift toilet! I also have a couple small kits in the car (a pre-made kit from the hardware store, no toilet though! Having a meeting place is a good idea. The 1989 Loma Prieta was the last big one I felt… that sucked!

I follow your blog all the way from Christchurch NZ and and we have lived with over 10000 aftershocks since sept 4 2010 when a 7.1 hit, then on feb 22 2011 a 6.3 under the city pretty much destroyed my lovely city. Very sad :0( and yes earthquakes are yucky and Mother Nature can be a right old moody cow! Like your blog, makes me smile :0)

We don’t get many earthquakes here on the east coast but we did have one occur last year that scared the crap out of our entire state. I thought the world was ending! Glad you are okay and you still managed to get in some relaxing yoga.

Earthquakes are scary! We had one in NYC last year and everyone was freaking out. That was my first and only earthquake experience and I hope to never have another. I live on the 9th floor of my building so I was pretty nervous since my building swayed. If another one ever happens, I’m bolting to the firehouse across the street.

I was getting ready for school when I felt it. You’re right, it’s the rattling that is scary, but since it was small it was no big deal.
That license plate picture reminded of one that I saw. It said “Mr. Creep”. I assume it is a fair warning to stay away from that car.

That’s probably a really, really good idea. We just moved to Texas and had our first tornadoes of the year. My husband was an absolute wreck (he was at work out of the path of the tornadoes, but myself and the littles were in the path of one of the tornadoes) and didn’t know what to do. We haven’t really talked much about what to do next time, but that would probably be a wise idea Glad you were safe!

We had a small earthquake in Ottawa two years ago and it was really nerve rattling. It was small by SoCal standards, but big for Ottawa. But you are right, the sound of the building rattling is the most nerve racking part! I remember thinking “what the hell is going on”, looking at my co-worker and then both of us bookin it out of the room. I worked in a windowless office at the time and thought airplane crash/gas explosion/something crashing into the building before I realized it was an earthquake!

Funniest part. I was going to SoCal a few days later and said the day before that I hoped to experience an earthquake

Scary- I’m glad you stayed for the rest of class to help soothe the nerves!
My husband and I have somewhat of a disaster plan. We typically only get tornado warnings here, but there have been a few deadly ones in the area over the last few decades.
Stay safe; Mother Nature can surprise everyone with her strength.

3.9? Psssh! Baby quake! Us Cali girls are made of sterner stuff And yeah, I totally know that deep panic that grips your throat and your stomach in those first few milliseconds as you judge how big it’s gonna be. How’s the kitteh? Mine hates earthquakes and she won’t come out from under the bed until the next day

Being from southwest Louisiana, our disaster specialty is hurricanes! My plan is to make my way to my mommy and daddy and let them take care of me. Mostly, because they own a generator and have an outdoor stove. After hurricane Rita, we didn’t have electricity for 6 weeks!

So true about just standing around and thinking this could be it! It was the first earthquake for my daughter and the huge jolt just took her by such a surprise! And our only disaster plan is escape outside. We have nothing around us to fall on us.

i NEVER feel when earthquakes happen! when it happened, my mom texted me and asked, “did you feel the earthquake??” since i’m in the bay area right now, of course i didn’t haha. but she was in tustin and said she felt a little shake

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or registered dietitian. The views I express are mine alone, based on my own experiences, and should not be taken as medical advice. I am a certified running coach, but am sharing my own training - not providing a program for you. Please speak with a medical professional before making any changes to your diet or exercise. Affiliates: Please note that affiliate links and sponsored posts may pop up on RER from time to time. I greatly appreciate your support! More »